The president of Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, has threatened to close a US military base if Washington does not agree to a steep rise in rent.

Mr Bakiyev said that if the US did not pay more than the current $2m (£1.1m) annual rent for its airfield at Manas he would terminate the rent agreement, ending the Pentagon's permanent presence in the geopolitical hub of central Asia.

He said negotiations began last July. The US embassy in the capital, Bishkek, declined to comment. Mr Bakiyev came to power through violent demonstrations that forced out the authoritarian president Askar Akayev.